In what year was Disney’s Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs released? The answer is 1937.
Disney’s Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs premiered on December 21, 1937, at the Carthay Circle Theatre in Los Angeles. It received a major theatrical release in the United States on February 4, 1938, which explains why some references mention both years. The film is conventionally identified as a 1937 release because its premiere and original production year were in 1937.
The film was based on the Brothers Grimm fairy tale “Snow White,” first published in their 1812 collection. Walt Disney’s feature-length adaptation was a major gamble because many industry observers doubted audiences would watch a full animated feature. Its success proved them wrong and helped establish animation as a major feature-film medium.
Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs was the first American animated feature film and became a landmark in cinema history. Walt Disney received an honorary Academy Award for the achievement in 1939: one full-sized Oscar accompanied by seven miniature statuettes, representing the film’s title characters.